Sir Mari Kapi's new PNG CJ

The Papua New Guinea Government has a new Chief Justice. He is Justice Sir Mari Kapi. He took over from Sir Arnold Amet and became the country's third chief justice since the country's independence.

Kapi, who had been the country's deputy chief justice for 10 years, has it all. He has the qualifications, the experience and most of all, the passion for the profession. The appointment therefore did not come as a surprise. Kapi has served as a Justice of Appeal in the Solomon Islands Court of Appeal and on the Fiji Court of Appeal. His most significant achievement has been his participation as a member of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged breaches of human rights in East Timor from October to December in 1999.

He is one of the longest serving judges on the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea.

Dr Mahathir's farewell trip

Malaysia's retiring anti-West, anti-Jewish and anti-Australian prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohammad, accompanied by five senior ministers, 40 businessmen and various others, made a two-day farewell trip to Papua New Guinea in October that arouse more speculation that Papua New Guinea hopes to court Malaysia as a potential substitute for Australia as a supplier of aid and investment. He was warmingly welcomed by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, who described the autocratic Malaysian politician and suppressor in Malaysia of free press and political rights, as the champion of the world's underdogs. Papua New Guinea recently asked Malaysia for what one local commentator described as a "financial rescue package on commercial terms"‹ apparently meaning a soft loan. It also wants Malaysia to back its desire for full membership of the ASEAN group of nations. Malaysia is the second biggest foreign investor in Papua New Guinea after Australia. The visit ended with the signing of an agreement for increasing bilateral relations between the two countries.

Political stalemate continues in Fiji

Political stalemate continues in Fiji over the issue of how many cabinet seats the Fiji Labour Party is entitled to (it claims 17 while Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase says 14). Last July, the Fiji Labour Party won a ruling from the Supreme Court which confirmed that it had a constitutional right to a large proportion of cabinet seats. The opposing party has gone back to the court which won't deal with the matter until some time next year. Qarase, in a speech in October, said if after the next court decision the FLP continued to prevaricate instead of accepting the decision, it would have effectively refused to join the government.

Get more involved in region, APEC told

Members of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have been asked to become more tangibly involved in Pacific Islands economies. Noel Levi, the outgoing secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat made the request when at the APEC conference in Bangkok in October as an observer. He suggested that APEC help islands countries write economic reports and that the Forum's 14 island country members be included in APEC's Investment Climate Guide.

Niue, Cooks bow to OECD pressure

Niue and the Cook Islands have bowed to heavy political pressure and threats from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by clamping down more heavily on their offshore banking businesses. Niue has not renewed licences held by four foreign holders until the end of last year, while the Cook Islands says that some of the 16 offshore banks registered in the country won't ask for the renewal of their licences because of the new banking rules brought in under OECD pressure.

Vivian's offer to resettle Tuvaluans

Niue's premier, Young Vivian has asked Tuvalu if it would like to resettle some of its people in Niue. But Tuvalu's prime minister, Saufatu Sopoanga, says there first needs to be a memorandum of agreement on the resettlement terms including access to land, housing, education and health facilities. Niue has a depopulation problem caused by immigration to New Zealand while Funafuti, Tuvalu's seat of government, is overpopulated and in the long term may lose a lot of its land area to encroachment by the sea.

Politicians to learn how to handle media

Australia will spend A$2.1 million on a three-year project to teach Pacific Islands politicians and bureaucrats how to handle the media. It will follow a now concluded project to foster the development of an independent media in the islands and in part will continue such assistance.